Toddlers and 2-Year Old Programming
"I'm just a kid, I have a lot of stuff to do yet."
~ Clint Eastwood
Our commitment to quality care continues in our Toddler and 2-year old rooms. Children at this age are eager learners who energetically interact with materials and people. We at the center realize that an environment and curriculum that encourages each child's growing need of independence is a basis for developing and mastering life skills and a positive self esteem. By playing in both large and small groups, these children will learn valuable social skills needed to effectively interact with others. While engaging in fun activities toddlers and 2-year olds will discover their likes and talents and will be exposed to fundamentals such as: colors, shapes, self-help skills, as well as social and language development.
Children under the age of 2 years old will have a notebook system for direct communication with their teacher(s). In this notebook the teacher will log the daily activities, feedings and the rest times of your child. Parents will be asked to list pertinent information that will ensure the individualized schedule of each child is up-to-date, to inculde but not limited to: the last time your child ate, slept and was changed, as well as mood and sleeping patterns of the night before. Parents of 2-year olds will find daily information posted in the Parent Area of the room.
Arts for Kids has an individualized program for the needs of children ages of
6-weeks to 2-years old.
All children will have individual contact and attention through feeding, diapering and learning experience.
Each child will follow their individual routine of feeding and sleeping set by their home environment.
The children will be provided with equipment to fit their educational development and creative expression appopriate to their age level.
Daily communication with parents:
~ A notebook for each child under two years of age will be sent home with parents summarizing child's activities.
Parents will bring back notebook with information for teachers.
Staff will ensure that throughout the day infants will be moved into different activities.
Potty Training Policy
If parents and the center are in agreement that a child is developmentally ready, Arts for Kids will begin to encourage potty training at age 2.
At 2-1/2 years old age, regular potty training is part of our daily program and routine. Children will be encouraged to wear pull-ups or underwear (depending on progress) and have plenty of extra pull-ups or underwear on hand. They will be taken to the bathroom every 2 hours (possibly more often at the beginning). If a child is wearing underwear, they will be put in a pull-up or diaper for naps, unless completely trained. We will use lots of praise for a "job well done" and lots of understanding when "accidents happen" if a child has a rough day.
Sometimes potty training can happen overnight and sometimes it can be a long process - we just need to have a lot of patience.
December 2025 News!
Toddler I
Hello Parents!
As we say goodbye to fall weather, winter is approaching. We are excited to go out and experience the snow once it is actually colder out! We’ve had a few days in the snow so far, and while some friends enjoy it, others are not a fan. This past month we have been working on colors and hope to continue to incorporate it in everyday play, as well as numbers. This month we are excited to teach your child about all things winter, such as topics like snow, snowflakes, igloos, penguins, polar bears, the North Pole, and icebergs.
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Tina
Toddler II
This month our themes are Snow, The North Pole, Winter/Christmas, and Christmas. We’ll explore snow through sensory play, simple crafts, and winter songs. Our North Pole theme will include fun activities with reindeer, elves, and plenty of imaginative play. As we move into Winter and Christmas, we’ll enjoy festive stories, music, ornament crafts, and cozy seasonal activities. It will be a month full of creativity, excitement, and holiday cheer. Thank you,
Ms. Kenzie and Ms. Kayla
Toddler III
December is here, and we are so excited to explore the wonders of winter with your little ones! This month, our themes will be snow, the North Pole, winter, Christmas, and New Year. We have lots of fun activities planned to celebrate the season. We’ll engage in sensory play with pretend snow this month. With North Pole Adventures, the children will discover where polar bears live, talk about Santa’s workshop, and pretend to travel to the North Pole. For winter crafts, expect adorable snowmen, sparkly snowflakes, and holiday ornaments to come home! For Christmas fun, we’ll read festive books, sing holiday songs, and do a special Christmas project. For New Years Celebrations, we will talk about saying goodbye to 2025 and hello to 2026 with a mini toddler-friendly countdown. We are looking forward to some fun dates coming up, including our dress up week from the 15th to the 19th, and our Christmas class party on 12/23. Just a few reminders to please send your child with weather-appropriate clothing, including coats, hats, mittens, snow pants, and boots. Label all jackets, hats, and gloves to avoid mix-ups, and check your child’s cubby for extra clothes in case of messy play.
We look forward to a joyful month full of winter magic and holiday cheer with your toddlers.Thank you for sharing this special season with us!
Warmly,
Ms. Erica
2's I
Welcome December!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I also hope that everyone is staying healthy and cozy in their warm clothes in the cold weather that we are having. Parents please remember to bring our child’s coat, hat, and mittens everyday and also their snow gear.
Our themes last month were: Healthy Habits, Apples, Transportation, and Thanksgiving. Our themes this month are: Gingerbread Man, Hot Cocoa/Holiday Treats, two weeks of Christmas, and then New Year’s Eve! We will be having a Christmas party so I will post a treat sign-up sheet outside my door the week of Christmas. Parents please make sure that you are checking your child’s cubby for artwork or important paperwork. Also please make sure that your child has extra clothes in their cubby. Just a reminder we do go outside unless it is below zero outside. Parents if you have any questions or concerns please see me in person or on the parent app. I am always available to meet your needs and support you any way that I can. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you,
Ms. Ashley
2's-II
Welcome to the last month of 2025 in 2’s-II
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with their families last month. We learned a lot last month by doing many crafts, large motor activities, and cognitive activities. The first week we learned all about our emotions. We made happy, sad, and mad faces. We used our eye-hand coordination skills to peel and stick stickers onto paper and we made a special treat. The children used their listening skills to make pancake and Nutella happy faces. We talked about the things we can do when we are sad and mad like stomp our feet, ask for a hug, or take a break. The following week we all had fun with our nursery rhyme week. The special request was “Going on a Bear Hunt” so we definitely got our energy out going on the hunt a bunch of times. We enjoyed using tea cups to mix colors together and learned red plus yellow makes orange and that red plus blue makes purple. The next week our theme was all about transportation. We loved driving the race cars down the paper with paint and using the ice boats to paint across the paper. The last week we got to celebrate Thanksgiving by doing fun Turkey activities. We enjoyed the feathers and rice in the sensory bin and we loved playing ring toss on the Turkey cone. The weather this month will get colder so please bring the appropriate gear for the kiddos. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones. As usual if you ever have any questions/concerns please don’t hesitate to tell me.
Ms. Laura
2's-III
Hello and welcome to December in 2’s III! It is hard to believe that we are at the end of the year already!
We have been working hard and having fun learning through play this past month as we learned about Emotions, World Nursery Rhyme Week, Transportation, and Thanksgiving.
We worked on our language and social skills as we answered the question of the day and talked about things like how we feel, our friends, songs we like, how we travel to school, foods we like to eat, and what kind of things we are thankful for. We sang our favorite songs, learned some new ones, learned some sign language, and listened to many books read to us.
As we learned to communicate with others, you may hear us say “no thank you, I don’t like that” or “that’s mine, please give it back,” or even excuse me, I’m trying to get past you.” We are also working on letting our friends know when we are frustrated, mad, or sad through words rather than pushing or hitting and are working on “making it better” through gentle touches like hugs or back pats when we make a friend sad through our actions.
Our large and small muscle skills are really improving! Having dance parties, doing yoga, driving on cars and carpet roads or through shaving cream, playing social games like tag, Ring around the Rosie and row your boat, marching, jumping, and doing art have built our skills through fun. Our art projects included painting, gluing, coloring, play dough, stickers, and even tearing paper!
Our eye-hand coordination and thinking skills were built by exploring sand and water, playing with puzzles and doing tracing, sorting, and matching activities. We built with Lego blocks, made pretend meals, and played with boats, cars, and trucks.
This month we will continue to work on our social, language, and motor skills as we do a variety of winter and holiday activities that incorporate all five of our senses.
As always, I am available to answer any questions you may have about your child or what we are working on in the classroom. Feel free to message me on Lillio or leave me a note!
Have a wonderful month and Merry Christmas!
Ms. Sara B. and 2’s III
